I am a physician, currently practicing as an Anesthesiologist. My other passions are finance and investments. As of 2013, I have passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams, all in my first attempts. I received my Masters of Business Administration degree in 2008. I received my certification as a securities specialist from the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2009.

Category: Economy

Social media is in everything this days, even in finance and investments. Unfortunately, finance related stuff doesn’t really trend in social media; at least here in the Philippines. The hashtag #ParaSaEkonomiya (For the Economy) is often used these days, but most of the posts don’t really relate to the economy. Sadly that hashatag has become a punchline.

Beginning with this post, Finance MD will regularly feature social media posts related to Philippine finance and investments. #ParaSaEkonomiya indeed.

Two Australians Andrew Chan and Myaran Sukumaran, convicted of drug trafficking, are awaiting execution in Indonesia. In an effort to convince the Indonesian government to stay the execution, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said “Let’s not forget that a few years ago when Indonesia was struck by the Indian ocean tsunami, Australia sent a billion dollars worth of assistance”. Strong wordsor just plain horrible? What’s your say?

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Today, February 19 is the start of the Year of the Wooden Goat / Sheep / Ram according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. In this post, I will list some investment and money tips from experts in Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology.

Goats and sheep are totally different creatures, but that’s not important, right? Image from fengshuiben.blogspot

In this post, I am not just going to calculate the discount from a run-of-the-mill Dunkin’ Donuts food promo (because that would be too easy), but also try to connect it to the concept of self-interest and the invisible hand. By the way, this is NOT an advertorial.This is a legitimate post y’all. I love donuts and I love promos more. Upon entering a neighborhood Dunkin’ Donuts (DNKN:US see latest stock quote), I planned to take out one – or maybe two – donuts home. However, I saw this poster.

Is this really a great deal? Poster of Dunkin’ donuts 3-3-12 promo. Image from official Dunkin’ Donuts Philippines twitter account

The franchise owner for Dunkin’ Donuts in the Philippines is Golden Donuts Incorporated. The promo price for this box of donuts is PHP 199 (USD 4.51). If I buy the donuts separately, this is what I’ll have to pay:

It is no secret that Russia has been on an economic slump lately due to economic sanctions brought about by the United States, Europe and their allies. The drop in crude oil prices makes things even worse.

Russia’s GDP grew by only 0.7% in the third quarter of 2014, and the World Bank projects that the country will go into recession in 2015. The Russian ruble (RUB) already lost about half its value. To counter the ruble slide, the Russian Central Bank raised interest rates to around 17%. Inflation is at around 9%.